Restaurant Guide: 25 Reasons to Eat Breakfast

KAUAI

Photo: Kicka White

Joe's on the Green

Names have a way of cropping up on the menu at South Shore eatery Joe’s on the Green. There’s Kent’s Tofu Scramble. Josephine’s Banana-Macadamia Nut Pancakes. Jane’s Huevo’s Rancheros. Local Joe’s Special. And even though co-owner Caroline Frederiksen created and self-titled the open-air restaurant’s breakfast burrito, she admits Michael’s Eggs Benedict ($11.25) is the most popular item on the breakfast menu. Why? “It’s the sauce,” she says. “It’s nothing without the sauce.” According to Frederiksen, customers claim Michael’s Eggs Benedict is the absolute best in the world. Seriously. Michael, on the other hand, is keeping quiet. He’s the restaurant’s longtime chef, and, like most cooks with a hit on their hands, he’s not sharing the secret ingredients. Smart man. Breakfast from 7 to 11:30 a.m. daily. 2545 Kiahuna Plantation Dr., Poipu, (808) 742-9696.

Olympic Café

Sometimes a simple ingredient can make all the difference. Take the Amigas Scramble ($9.50) at Olympic Café. The recipe goes something like this: Mix up a fresh batch of salsa fresca—onions, tomatoes and cilantro. Scramble three eggs. Combine together. Add plenty of cheese. Cook. Here comes the key ingredient: As the eggs set, crush a handful of tortilla chips and fold into the eggs. The chips add a sweet corn flavor, a hint of salt and a slight crunch. But that’s not all to this meal’s sensual delights. A side of cold, sliced papaya with a wedge of lime cools the mouth. Breakfast is served from 6 a.m. to noon, daily. 4-1354 Kuhio Highway, Kapaa. (808) 822-5825.

PHOTO: KICKA WHITE

Lappert's

The dessert king of Kauai, Lappert’s also roasts its own coffee—blends with at least 10 percent of the beans from around the Hawaiian Islands as well as pure Hawaiian estate coffees. At Old Koloa Town, Lappert’s opens daily at the bright and bushy hour of 6 a.m., before any other shops prop open their doors, but, certainly, not before the neighborhood roosters start crowing. And because everyone knows coffee tastes better with a little something to nibble on, Lappert’s also bakes fresh daily a variety of rolls, muffins and cookies, all highlighting tropical tastes such as pineapple, passionfruit and coconut. Try the Caramel Macadamia Nut Sticky Bun. Just the name makes us salivate. Daily, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., 5424 Koloa Road, Koloa, (808) 742-1272.